Charm Away the Storm
by Wacko the Sane
Summary: Who have these three children discovered in their barn? How long can they keep him safe? Based on the film 'Whistle Down the Wind'. HBP Spoilers.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Right then, if you've seen the (wonderful) film Whistle Down the Wind you'll understand what's going on, if you haven't it's just a very sweet story. Thank you to witchintraining for beta-reading it for me. Well I just love this story (not necessarily my version) it's so lovely! So just immerse yourself into the world of three small children, and enjoy…**

- CHAPTER ONE -

The three children followed Eddie as he strode out of the field, when he stopped and took one last drag on his cigarette before dropping it at his feet and stomping it. They crouched down, but as soon as he went on they tiptoed after him. When he reached the water-filled quarry he held up the small bag he had been swinging, looking at it broodingly before he suddenly reached for his wand. The children all hid their terrified faces behind their hands, but he sighed and put his wand away again. The youngest child nearly shouted but his sisters quickly clapped their hands over his mouth, and the three of them lay hidden behind a rock as the farm hand marched past them, back to the farm, leaving the bag sitting in the shallow water.

As soon as he was out of sight they jumped up and ran down to the water's edge, they grabbed a long stick and pushed the bag back towards them where it had been slowly floating along the river. The three little kittens with straggly fur and large ears purred contentedly as they were clasped to each child's chest.

The children ran up to the farm and swung on the gate. Their father, who was hopefully prodding his wand at the old tractor called at them, "Now shut that,"

"Charlie's coming, Dad," Kathy, the eldest replied,

"I don't care who's coming," her father said, "now go back and shut that."

Just then Charlie appeared at the gate, holding the breast of his cloak uncomfortably whilst his kitten trying to settle down. "Shut the gate!" Kathy shouted at him,

"I shut it. I shut the gate, Dad."

"What have you been up to, then?"

"Nothing." Charlie answered, "Do you want any help, Dad?"

"No, I don't need your help." He looked at his son suspiciously, "Come here. What have you got under your cloak?"

"Me pully," He replied innocently,

"I don't mean that. You know what I mean, and don't be so clever. What have you got?"

"Something I found. Are you sure I can't help you, Dad?"

"Go on," his father sighed, "get on."

Charlie ran after his sisters as they crossed the farm to one of the barns. Eddie was hosing the concrete outside and Charlie ran out of sight just as he shouted at the girls.

"Have you been in my traps again?" Eddie growled.

"No we haven't, see." Kathy said indignantly whilst her younger sister Nan shook her head fervently.

"Well, you better not, else I'll tell your dad." Eddie flicked his hose so they both got sprayed a little, before continuing, "Then you'll cop it. Cost me good money, them traps do."

"We haven't been near your rotten traps," Kathy repeated angrily, "and I'll tell me dad you pinched his paraffin."

Eddie scowled and lifted his hose to spray them both, but just then Charlie turned the tap off on the side of the barn. As Eddie shook the hose furiously, giving the girls just time to run off, Charlie quickly turned the tap back on and belted after his sisters, pausing to admire Eddie getting a jet of freezing water in his pouched face.

"Close it. Hurry up; we'll get old trapface in here." Kathy called to Charlie as he came in, "Let's find a place to put them." She scanned the barn and pointed out an empty stall with her finger, "Over there, get the box. We'll put some stuff in it."

They put the kittens in the box and filled it with straw, and then Nan turned to Charlie.

"Yours looks poorly. I think he wants its mother. Do you want your mother?"

"Shut up." Charlie said. "Yours… yours is the one that wants its mother."

"What shall we call them, Kathy?" Nan asked.

"I don't know. We'll have to think."

"I'm going to call mine Spider." Charlie said happily, looking down at his kitten.

"You can't call a Kneazle Spider!" Nan snorted, "That's ridiculous!"

"I can call it anything I like!"

"You're daft, you are," laughed Nan. "You're soft in your head."

"When mine grows up I'll teach it to hate yours and it'll eat it all up." Charlie spat.

"Oh don't!"

"Shut up, you two," sighed Kathy, "And listen, you're not to say nowt. You're not to breathe it to our Aunt Dolly or she'll be after telling me dad. Come on, then. And don't keep running in and out of here, else they'll know."

They left the barn and went back to the house, glancing back often to the barn where the kittens were asleep in their box.

OoOoOoO

Later that evening they all sat in the sitting room, their father was about to go out, "Come on you two." He called to Charlie and Nan, "Bed."

"I haven't finished my sandwich yet." Charlie said loudly.

"You've finished. Come on."

"But Auntie says I have to eat more slowly."

"Well, never mind that. Put it in your mouth and get upstairs."

"Good night, Dad," said Nan as she finished drawing her picture. Her father kissed her goodnight and then she went up to bed.

"Night, Dad," Charlie sighed, standing up reluctantly.

"Straight up, now."

"I have to say good night to Auntie and Kathy."

"Well, say it from there."

"Good night, Auntie!" Charlie shouted into the kitchen. "I don't think she heard me. Shall I go in and say?" he added hopefully.

"Look, I'll not tell you again…"

"Good night, Kathy." Charlie said resignedly.

"Good night." She replied, barely looking up from her comic.

"I'm going down there for half an hour. And don't let her stay up half the night reading either." Their father shouted to his sister as he went to leave.

"Don't tell me, tell her." She bellowed back, "She's your daughter."

He winked at Kathy, "You heard what she said." Then he fastened his cloak and went out of the door.

Kathy read for a few minutes longer, and then when she could no longer hear anyone moving around she ran lightly to the door and struggled to put her boots on.

"What are you up to?" her aunt's voice called from the kitchen.

"Um, just... just off to the lavvy, Auntie."

"Well, mind you don't leave door open, banging all night."

"No, Auntie."

Then she ran out into the dark. She walked briskly past all the outhouses calling quietly to their Kneazle who had mothered the kittens, "Dusty? Dusty?" There was a faint mew and a large hairy cat appeared. Kathy picked her up and carried her into the barn.

"There you are," Kathy smiled as she laid Dusty next to her kittens.

Suddenly she heard a rustling in the straw and a figure sat up. A pale gaunt face, shadowed by a curtain of black hair appeared, rising up from under the straw. The Kneazle yowled and Kathy leapt backwards, her heart thumping like a drum against her ribcage.

"Who is it?" Kathy whispered shakily. "Who are you?"

The man's face blanched even more if that was possible, and muttered, "Merlin," before collapsing back into the straw.

Kathy stared at his ghostly face for a moment and then tore out of the barn, terrified. Just stopping to catch her breath by the gate before running back to the house and into her bedroom.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello again, sorry this took a while. Well I had written it ages ago, complain to my beta not me ;) but thanks to witchintraining anyway :P**

- CHAPTER TWO -

Kathy jumped into the bed that she shared with Nan, shivering and her face still white with shock. She glanced up at the framed picture on the table beside the bed. It was of the Thirteen Magical Treasures of Britain, with a line at the bottom saying_ 'These treasures will remain in Merlin's safekeeping until the day when Arthur wakes, and returns, and is once again crowned king'._ Did this mean Arthur had been reawakened on the Isle of Avalon and was coming to reclaim the throne? Or was Merlin in trouble? Had he left his invisible glasshouse to try to get help? She rolled over to look at Nan.

"Nan? Wake up, Nan. Nan!" Kathy prodded her sister.

"What?" growled Nan.

"I've got something to tell you."

"What?" She yawned loudly.

"You've got to wake up. I've seen him." Kathy whispered, her voice suddenly frantic.

Nan opened her eyes blearily. "You what?"

"Listen, you've got to listen! I've seen him."

"Who?"

"Merlin. In our barn. He's come back."

"Kathy, are you sure?" Nan gasped; instantly awake. "What are we going to do then?"

"I don't know," Kathy sighed. "But I expect he'll tell us."

"What does he talk like Kathy?" Nan asked.

"Well, he didn't say much; he just told me who he was." She hesitated, before continuing, "I think he was very tired."

"Well, he would be, wouldn't he?" Nan whispered, "Is he stopping?"

"He didn't say."

"D'you think he'd like to see me in morning?"

"I don't know." Kathy said quietly.

"I expect so." Nan smiled slightly in the darkness. "Funny, isn't it, him coming to our barn? It's like a miracle."

"Come on then, we better get to sleep; we'll have to go and see him in the morning." Kathy blew the candle out, but it was a long time before she got to sleep.

xXxXx

They tiptoed out of the house at first light, racing across the yard to the barn. But as they got to the door, Nan hesitated.

"Come on. Hurry up." Kathy said.

"I don't think I want to after all, Kathy." Nan whispered.

"It's all right." Kathy smiled. "I promise."

Nan nodded, and then asked sheepishly, "Are we to curtsey?"

"Oh I expect so," Kathy laughed, "but I don't think he'll mind."

They crept into the barn, Nan walked half-hidden behind Kathy until they came to where he was lying asleep in the straw. They stood silently looking at him for a few moments, and then Kathy threw an overcoat over him and pulled Nan out of the barn.

"He didn't look much like he does on the Chocolate Frog cards," Nan remarked.

"Well he's a wizard, it's probably a disguise," Kathy said, "or he could be a Metamorphmagus like Dad's cousin Olwen. But he told me who he was, and I believe him."

"He was asleep in our barn!" Nan said excitedly.

Kathy suddenly turned to her. "Here! It's got to be a secret. You're not to tell nobody. He'll tell us. When he wakes up; he'll tell us what to do." They hurried into their house as their father came roaring around the corner on his tractor.

He stopped the tractor and shouted at Eddie who was messing about with his traps. "Eddie! Eddie, what are you doing?"

"Doing, Mr Bostock?" Eddie stood up, trying to look innocent.

"I thought I told you to shift that calf!"

"Yes, well, I was waiting on you, you see," Eddie shifted his weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

"Look, I told you to shift her yesterday." Mr Bostock sighed, "It's too drafty in that little pen; she's worse this morning."

"Yes, well, I was on me way to shift her." Eddie said awkwardly, "I was waiting for you to look at her, see."

"Well, I've looked at her," Mr Bostock said, "so shift her up to the big barn; I'll get Weaver in to have a look at her. And if something like this happens another time don't wait for me. Just do what I say when I say it, or you might just find you'll be the one who has to stay in that pen."

"Right! I'll do that now, then. Right." Eddie hurried off reluctantly to fetch the heifer.

Back in the house, the girls were trying to sneak a small loaf of bread from the kitchen. "What are you doing?" Charlie asked his sisters. "Are we going to play with Jackie Greenwood today?"

"One of us might be." Kathy spoke curtly. "Two of us aren't."

"You rotten cows, what are you doing?" Charlie growled at them.

"Ask no questions, get no lies told." Nan smirked.

"You rotten cows, you're nothing else." He shouted angrily, but his sisters ignored him.

"You watch your tongue boy." Charlie received a smack from his aunt as she went through the kitchen.

"It's always me." He sighed, "I always get it. Well, I'm off to hide, then. And no following."

"We don't want to follow you," said Nan sweetly.

"Well, you better not, then," Charlie shouted as he ran out the door. "Rotten cows!"

Kathy and Nan raised their eyebrows at him and ran out onto the yard. Eddie was leading the calf across the yard, making Kathy's eyes widen.

"Eddie? Eddie! Eddie! What are you doing?" she shouted.

"Well, what does it look like?" Eddie looked up, "Thought the house was on fire or something did you?"

"Isn't she any better?" Kathy asked, stroking the calf's flank.

"No, she eats too much, like somebody else I know." Eddie scowled.

"Are you taking her into the barn? Can I put her in?"

"You trying to get my job or something?" he frowned at her.

Kathy hesitated and then started speaking very quickly. "No! No, but me dad says I got to work more. He says I'm useless, and I'm not, see. It's just that nobody lets me. So, will you let me? Please, then I can tell me dad."

"You know how?"

"Yes! Yes, I've seen how you do it, seen how clever you are." Eddie stood up a little straighter, and missed Kathy winking at Nan; he never could resist a bit of careful flattery. "Then...then you could go and have a look at your trap; there's something in it, I think. I saw as I come along."

"In me trap?" Eddie looked over to his trap excitedly.

"Aye! That big old wood pigeon, I think. The one you've been after."

"Right. That's right. Long as you know how." He thrust her the rope and twisted his hands eagerly, "In the trap now, is he? Right. I'll have him."

Kathy led the calf into the barn, and tied her up in a stall, before joining Nan standing over the sleeping man.

"Does he always sleep?" sighed Nan. "He doesn't look well, does he? He looks poorly."

"Is he like what you thought?" Kathy asked.

Nan simply shrugged.

"I'm glad he came to our barn though, aren't you? He could have gone to Jackie Greenwood's."

Suddenly the barn door burst open and Charlie ran in, anxiously turning his head to make sure he wasn't being followed. He did a double take when he saw his sisters, who were both standing in front of the man, trying to block him from his view.

"Shhh! Go on! Go on out of here!" hissed Kathy.

"Why should I? It's my barn as much as yours. Anyway, I want to see my kitten." He bent down to look through their legs.

"Who's that? Who's that fella?" he exclaimed.

"It's not a fella," Nan said indignantly. "It's Merlin."

"Is he dead?"

"Course not."

"That isn't Merlin." Charlie said loudly.

"Well, it is, mister clever Dick."

"Merlin wore a long dress, and a big pointy hat, and he had a really long beard."

"Well, Dad still wears robes when he's going somewhere posh. And anyway, that was a long time ago; he can change his clothes if he wants." said Kathy.

"Is it? Is it really him?" Charlie whispered.

Kathy nodded. "Listen! It's a secret. You're not to tell anyone. Because we don't know yet what he wants us to do. And we've got to look after him."

"Merlin in our barn!" Charlie said excitedly. "Merlin in _our_ barn!"

The three children ran from the barn and up along a hill, jumping and dancing together. They collapsed in a laughing pile on the hillside.

"I think something very important and magical is going to happen to us soon," Kathy whispered. "After all, we were the ones he chose."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry this took so long, I'd finished the entire story weeks ago, but my hem, hem, dear beta-reader is being rather slow, so just have this!**

- CHAPTER THREE -

Mr Reeves stood on the doorstep on his large house, scanning his eyes up and down the street for any latecomers. There was a loud crack to the side of him and he rolled his eyes.

"Hello, Mr Reeves," said the portly man who had just appeared next to him.

"Good morning, Mr Thurstow." Mr Reeves cleared his throat. "Please remember that there are many Muggles living in this village; they're not used to people Apparating up and down their High Street."

"Well it's a Sunday, isn't it? They'll all be at church. Isn't that why wizarding communities all have their classes on Sunday mornings?"

"Maybe twenty years ago; things are different now." Mr Reeves nodded at a rushed looking witch pushing her small son towards him, and opened the door behind him. The boy went in and his mother hurried back down the street. "Dangerous times to be living in."

"Yes, well that's why I'm here; when you're looking for a murderer, you've got to move fast." He nodded at the door. "Especially with children around; you've got to close in quickly. I mean, the Law Enforcement Squad were slow off their marks for a start. They should have closed in, but they didn't."

"No, no," Mr Reeves said, absent-mindedly looking at his watch.

"'Course, Teesdale's a very good man. And there's your Albert Wilcox, he hasn't been to bed for three nights."

"Yes, yes, Wilcox, yes." Mr Reeves was watching a boy splashing in a puddle on the roadside. He turned back to Thurstow. "Yes, I'm still waiting to hear from him about the quantity of quills that went missing. Get out of that puddle, boy!"

The boy ran under Mr Reeves's arm and into the house. He went into a back room, where a group of children were seated around a young witch.

"Hello, David." She frowned at the boy. "Well, I think you had better go find Mrs. Reeves and get those clothes dried. Go on. Hurry up."

"Miss?" Kathy said quietly.

"Yes, Kathy?" she said, turning back to the children.

"What would happen if Merlin came back?"

"Well, Kathy." Miss Lodge looked slightly taken-aback. "Of course, Merlin has never really left us, has he? He's with us all the time; here in this room, at home, everywhere. Isn't he?"

"Yes, Miss. Only, I mean if he came back in person, like."

"Well...well, for one thing, he'd find a great many changes, wouldn't he? Now, that's a good one. What sort of changes would he find? Hmm?" she asked the children hopefully.

"Quidditch World Cup," Jackie Greenwood said bluntly.

"What's that, Jackie? Speak up."

"Quidditch World Cup, Miss."

Miss Lodge fluttered her eyelids. "Anybody else?"

"Cup Final, cloth ears," Jackie muttered under his breath.

xXxXx

In the barn, the man was awake. He was sitting with his back against the timber walls, pulling his black cloak tighter around him as a gust of wind howled into the barn through a couple of broken planks in the wall. He scrambled around in the straw for the loaf of bread someone had brought him; he assumed it must have been the girl he'd frightened last night. He picked up the loaf in his pale clammy hands and brought it to his mouth. Suddenly there was a sharp crack like a whip from outside and he froze. He put one eye against a hole in the wall and watched a well-built wizard in navy blue robes walk up to the door of the house. He knocked and Mr Bostock opened the door; they talked for a few minutes, before the wizard turned on his heel and Disapparated, leaving Mr Bostock standing anxiously on his doorstep. The man's chest heaved with relief and he slumped back down against the wall.

xXxXx

The children arrived back at the farm an hour later and rushed into the yard. Kathy opened the gate and shut it behind her; Nan glared at her but climbed over it and jumped down into the muddy puddle on the other side with a grin; Charlie decided just to crawl under the gate, covering himself with mud in the process.

Nan peered up at the sky. "It's stopped raining. Do you think he stopped it, Kathy?"

"Yes, he can do anything, Merlin."

"Do you think he could make me a nice chocolate cake for me birthday?" Charlie asked.

"I don't know, I think he normally does magic on big things." Kathy said.

"Are we going to tell anyone?" he asked her.

"No, not 'til he's ready," Kathy replied. "Not 'til he's better, then everybody'll know. They'll all come and see him."

"Who?" Nan asked.

"Oh, everybody!" Kathy exclaimed, "Kings, queens, knights, wizards, witches, and people. Maybe even the Chief Warlock of Burnley. There'll be thousands of them around our barn before he's finished. You just wait and see, I'll bet you anything you like. Come on, let's hurry."

They ran into the barn to find the man backed up against the wall, holding out a piece of broken plank defensively.

"Oh hello," Kathy said, "are you feeling any better then? We brought you the bread, was it alright?"

"Oh you did, did you?" he said hoarsely, as if he hadn't forgotten how to use his voice; he cleared his throat several times.

"Mmm," Kathy replied, "sorry it wasn't very much."

Charlie brought his kitten over to the man, "Sorry, we didn't bring you any dinner, but I brought you my kitten. Its name's Spider."

"We've not told anyone," Kathy said to the man, "You don't want us to tell nobody, do you? 'Til you're better."

"No," he said forcefully, "you are not to tell anyone."

"We know who you are, and we're going to look after you." Kathy smiled at him. "We'll try and get you some better stuff next time."

The man nodded and went to sit down in the straw again, his deep black eyes set like tunnels in his chalky face. The children left the barn quietly; Kathy gazed back anxiously to him and then shut the door.

xXxXx

"Did you come straight home from Wizardry School today, Kathy?" Mr Bostock asked as he served his children their dinner.

"Yes, Dad," Kathy answered.

"You didn't hang about anywhere."

"No, Dad."

"No? Well, there's a good girl. I don't want you hanging around talking to people and that. You didn't talk to anyone, did you?" he enquired nervously.

"Well I talked to Mr Reeves, Dad, and Miss Lodge."

"No, I mean strangers, like. You didn't talk to any strangers?"

"No, Dad."

"Well, I don't want you talking to strangers. There are some very funny people about these days; funny men and that, I don't want you to be bothered with anyone you don't know."

Kathy nodded, whilst slowly pulling a piece of bread off her bread and onto her lap.

"Kathy, what are you doing?" her aunt demanded.

"Nothing, Auntie."

"What have you got under table?"

"Nothing, Auntie," she said as she passed the bread to Nan.

"Well, there's sommat going on between the pair of you." She frowned at them, Nan passed the bread to Charlie, Auntie's eyes fixed on him. "You know sommat about it, too. What have you got in your hands?"

"Nothing, Auntie," Charlie said as he put the bread on her lap.

"Well, eat your tea properly." She shook her head and went back to her food. Charlie whipped the bread off her lap, and it made its way back to Kathy.

"Now, mind what I say. I don't want you having anything to do with strangers. Just mind what I say." Mr Bostock said anxiously to Kathy.

Kathy gulped as the bread landed in her lap. "Yes, Dad."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Told you I've had it up quicker! Thank you Isi, my beta-reader, for actually beta-reading it for me! Well there you go…**

- CHAPTER FOUR -

Nan and Charlie sat laughing on the pavement outside the grocer's shop, reading a _Martin Miggs _comic hidden under a sheet of newspaper. Kathy came out of the shop clutching a heavy bag. "Come on, you two," she called to her younger siblings.

"Did you get the stuff?" Charlie asked.

"Don't shout," Kathy said, "but yes, I did; I got an extra bar of soap, some toothpaste, and an individual fruit pie. Quick, put them up your jumper." She passed him the pie, bar of soap and toothpaste.

"Do you think Auntie'll find out?" Nan asked worriedly.

"No." Kathy shook her head. "I'll say I lost a couple of Knuts."

They walked home up the lane, when they came across a large group of wizarding children, all looking at them eagerly. Kathy span around and shouted at Charlie, "It was you! You told them!"

"No, I didn't," he said indignantly, "I only told Jackie Greenwood."

"You told them, and after I told you not to tell anybody."

"I didn't tell anybody, I only told Jackie," he repeated.

Kathy sighed and led them on, but the children followed behind them closely. She tried to ignore them, but when she reached the farm gate, she had to turn and confront them.

"What do you lot want, then?" she asked angrily.

"We've come to see him," a small girl whispered.

"Who?"

"Merlin," the girl said.

"Yes," said David, the boy who had been jumping in the puddles on Sunday. "We want to see Merlin."

"Well, you can't," Kathy said.

"Yes we can," a plump girl with freckles said loudly, "he's not your private property. Everyone can see him if they want."

"Well...if I tell you, if I let you see him, it's got to be a secret. You've got to promise; it's got to be a secret from the grownups. Do you promise? Because if you don't they'll come and take him away. Do you understand?" Kathy surveyed them all. "Right, you can't go past our house, for a start. You'll have to go right round. Our Nan and Charles will take you. You're not to make any noise and you're to wait for me. Do you understand? Come on."

Kathy ran off along the lane, while Nan and Charlie led the children along the edge of the field.

David started crowing and jumping up and down. Nan stopped suddenly and scowled at him. "Do you want to see Merlin or don't you?"

"Yes," David said quickly.

"Well, shut up, then!"

Up at the house Kathy was giving the bag to her Aunt.

"Here are your groceries, Auntie." She spoke quickly. "I'm just going out to play for a bit."

"Well, mind you don't get yourself all mucked up," her aunt called after her hastily retreating figure.

Kathy ran off to the barn where she met the children. "You're all to wait here until I say. And keep back out of sight," she ordered them. "Nan, give me the stuff. Keep back."

She went into the barn and found the man sitting in the straw. "I brought you these like I promised." She handed him the things, her eyes flitting to his scratched arms. "Oh, your arms."

"Yes. If you want to get me anything, you could get me some water and a bit of cloth or something," the man said quietly.

"Yes, sir." At these words, his eyes suddenly became bright. "I'll send our Charles." Kathy continued.

"Charles?"

"My little brother," Kathy smiled. "He'll get the stuff."

"Oh. Right. Who else knows I'm here?" he asked suspiciously.

"Oh, only Charles and me sister Nan," Kathy smiled before frowning slightly. "And the other children."

"Other children?" His lips tightened. "How many of you are there?"

"Oh! They're not ours! But they're all right." She waved at the door before calling out, "you can come in now, but come in quietly!"

The children came in and gathered awkwardly around the scowling man.

"Go get some water from the yard, Charlie," Kathy said to him.

"What in?"

"Oh, use your loaf and find something," Kathy sighed, then she turned to the children. "Well, say hello. Go on, say hello."

"Hello, sir," they chorused. Kathy caught the flicker of a smirk on his usually unimpressed face.

Nan handed him the _Martin Miggs_ comic. "It's got a free gift inside it. In there, it's a battery."

"Very nice," said the man, raising a thin eyebrow.

"Will you tell us a story, please?" asked Jackie Greenwood.

"A story?"

"Yes, please," the children said.

"What about?"

"Um...the Sword in the Stone!"

"No, Culhwch and Olwen!"

"No, the Holy Grail!"

"Go on, will you?"

"Yes, tell us a story."

"Go on, will you tell us a story?"

"Yes, please tell us a story."

"Story! Story!" they started to chant.

"Shut up!" he shouted suddenly, they fell silent. "You mustn't make so much noise. If you keep quiet, I'll read you a story. Sit down." He picked up the comic and flicked through the pages. "Martin Miggs, undercover, 'the stranger paused. "Yes, I have zee parcel," he said…'"

xXxXx

Outside Charlie was filling a rusty tin with water from the tap; he jumped when he saw his father and the animal Healer appear.

"How long has she been sick for?" the Healer asked.

"Oh, not long," Mr Bostock replied.

"Hello, young man," the Healer said, looking down at Charlie.

"Here, what are you doing? Look at your boots." He shook his head in dismay. "Turn that tap off." He and the Healer continued their conversation.

Charlie looked around anxiously and called out, "Dad! Dad!" Inside the barn Kathy and the man froze.

"What?" Mr Bostock asked irritably.

"Are you gonna look at the calf?"

"Aye, and you can't come, so don't suggest it." He turned back to the Healer and said, "Had bad luck with the weather, of course. That field should have been sown last month."

Mr Bostock and the Healer walked into the barn, to find the group of children standing in the middle, looking guilty.

"What are you lot doing in here?" Mr Bostock asked, "Come on, out of here. Go and play outside. Go on, all of you."

"Oh, can't I stay, Dad?" Kathy asked.

"No, Healer Weaver doesn't need or want your advice."

"Oh, please let me stay, Dad. I have been looking after her," she pleaded.

"Oh, all right then," he sighed, "as long as you keep out of the way."

The Healer went over to the calf, while Mr Bostock fidgeted a little. Behind him, the man was lying hidden under the straw; Mr Bostock took a step back, standing directly on his hand. The man winced, his face contorted.

"Well, don't see much wrong with her now," the Healer remarked, Mr Bostock walked over to him. Both Kathy and the man released a large sigh.

"Could have saved myself your bill, then, eh? No wonder you're not complaining."

"I don't know about that. Anyway, she seems to have got over it, whatever it was. Are you going to keep her?" the Healer said.

"Well, I was, but I'm not too bothered."

"Oh, what's this?" He picked up the comic that was lying on the floor. "Is this yours, young lady?"

Kathy nodded quickly, grabbing the comic from Healer Weaver's outstretched hand.

"Well, what do you say?" Mr Bostock said to Kathy.

"Thank you," Kathy said to the Healer.

"They don't take care of nothing. I don't know they're up to half the time," he sighed, and then he and the Healer left the barn.

Kathy crouched down next to the man. "It's all right. You can come out now, they've gone," she whispered. He crawled out from the straw, clutching his hand. "You all right?"

"It's fine," he said.

"We'll have to find you somewhere safer."

The man shrugged. "Thank you for not giving me away."

"Oh, we would never give you away. Not ever." Kathy smiled at him.

He frowned. "Why are you... and all of those other children... why are you helping me?"

"Because we love you, of course. Oh, I forgot. I brought you this." She handed him the picture of the Thirteen Magical Treasures of Britain.

He looked at it. "What is this for?"

"It's a picture of you," she said, pointing as the small drawing of Merlin walked across the frame, the man looked at her bewildered. "Of course it was taken a long time ago... But we won't ever let the grownups find you. You're quite safe with us, quite safe with us."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry this one took a little longer again; I've been pretty busy, but here you are. Thanks to all my readers, and Isi, my beta-reader.**

- CHAPTER FIVE -

Kathy and some of the other children were playing in the school playground when one of the Muggle children came sauntering along outside the fence. Most of the Muggle children were alright, but this one always sensed that there was something different about the children who always went to Mr Reeves's house on Sundays, and he had seen their parents wearing strange clothes.

He jumped over the fence into the playground and walked up to David, who was sitting on the swings, and grabbed a chocolate bar from his hands.

"What else you got?" the boy grunted.

"Nothing," David said meekly.

"Well, give it to me then, if it's nothing."

"We know something you don't know," Jackie Greenwood called out. The boy span around.

"We know something you don't know," another girl called.

"We know something you don't know. We know something you don't know," the wizarding children began to chorus.

The boy grabbed Jackie, threw him to the ground and twisted his arm behind his back. "What d'you know?" he growled.

"Give over," Jackie squealed.

"What d'you know, then?"

"Give over," Jackie repeated.

"Tell us what you know first."

"Get off, man," he moaned.

"What d'you know that I don't know?"

"Get off me."

"Tell us what you know first."

"Get off!"

"What do you know that I don't know?" the boy raised his fist.

Jackie gulped. "Merlin! We've seen Merlin!"

"You what?" The boy let out a roar of laughter.

"I just told you, we've seen Merlin."

"Yeah, and who else, the Weird Sisters?"

"No, honest, we have."

"You haven't, have you?" he chortled as Jackie grew more red in the face.

"Yes!"

"Have you?"

"Yes!"

"Have you? Have you really?"

Tears were beginning to dribble down Jackie's cheeks. "No…"

"Say it, then! Say, I haven't seen Merlin!"

"I haven't seen Merlin," Jackie whispered.

"Again! And louder!" the boy shouted.

"I haven't seen Merlin..."

The boy let him go, and turned to the other children. "All right, who else has seen him? Who else? Come on, which other one of you freaks?"

Kathy whispered from behind him, "I have."

The Muggle bully whipped around, glared at her for a second, then slapped her hard across the face. Tears welled up in her eyes and her cheeks began to burn, but she stood her ground.

"Leave her alone!" the other children shouted.

"She has seen him," one girl called, "we've all seen him."

"And I've seen him as well. So you know," Jackie said.

The boy scowled at them. "You're a bunch of loonies you are! Think you've seen some old wizard that people made up? No one cares! You're all freaks!" Kathy continued to stare at him, unflinching. He laughed at the stone-faced children and ran out of the playground.

Kathy made her way back to the farm, her cheek still stinging. She met her sister and brother at the gate, who went up to the barn to see the Kneazle kittens, but she didn't go with them.

Nan and Charlie rushed into the barn, anxious to see their kittens. Nan found hers hiding under a wheelbarrow but Charlie couldn't see his.

"Where's mine?" He asked. "Where's mine gone? Hey, where's mine?"

"I don't know, do I?" Nan sighed, stroked her purring kitten.

"Merlin! Merlin!" Charlie called up to the hayloft where the man had been sleeping.

"What is it?" he asked irritably.

"Have you got my kitten?"

"What kitten?"

"Spider, the one I gave you."

"No, I haven't got it."

"But I gave it to you so you could look after it." Charlie lip trembled.

"Well, I haven't got it."

Charlie rooted around in the barn for a little longer, and eventually pulled a limp form from the straw. "Dead. It's dead, he let it die! He let it die! He let it die!"

Tears seeped out of his eyes as he shouted accusingly up to the hayloft. He ran out of the barn, still crying.

Nan bent down and picked up the dead kitten, cuddling its cold body against her own warm chest. She gazed sadly up to the silent hayloft, where the man was no longer in sight.

xXxXx

Charlie was sitting at the edge of the quarry, throwing stones into the water when Kathy walked up and sat beside him.

"What's up?" she asked kindly.

"He's just ordinary," Charlie sighed.

"Who?"

"Merlin; he does things for other people, but he won't do anything for me. 'Cause it isn't him. It's just a fella."

"It is him, Charlie."

"It isn't. 'Cause I gave him my kitten to look after and he let it die. It was my kitten, not his." Charlie began to cry again and Kathy gave him a hug.

"He can't stop everything from dying. Nobody can. Not even the most powerful wizard. There must...he must have had a reason. I'll find out for you, shall I? Shall I find out for you? Shall I? Let's go and find Mr Reeves, he knows everything about Merlin."

Kathy and Charlie ran off to Mr Reeves' house, Mrs Reeves directed them to the teashop in the village. They ran in and Kathy bought a bottle of orange juice for Charlie before they sat down and Charlie started on the juice immediately. Mr Reeves was sitting nearby, reading a Muggle book.

"Mr. Reeves?" Kathy said quietly.

"Hello …Linda?" Mr Reeves said, looking up from his book.

"It's not Linda," Kathy mumbled, "I'm Kathy Bostock."

"Oh. Oh, yes, is it. Kathy, that's right."

"Can I interrupt you for a minute?" she asked.

"Yes, of course," he said kindly.

Kathy pulled up a chair at his table. "You know how he used to cure people? Merlin, I mean."

"Well, I suppose so," Mr Reeves replied.

"And he could bring people back from dead, too?"

"Well, in his own way… I think Morgan le Fay did more healing than Merlin though, Katie."

"It's Kathy," she muttered. "Only he must have let some people die, mustn't he? Why did he let those people die?"

"Well, uh...you see, uh, people...babies are being born all the time...and, uh...those of us who are here already have got to make room for them, haven't we?" he looked at her anxiously.

"Yes, sir."

"Is this about your mother?" Mr Reeves asked.

"Oh no, sir, it's nothing to do with that." She looked confusedly at him.

Then she went back to the table where Charlie was sitting. Charlie looked up from his empty orange juice and she led him outside.

"He doesn't know, does he?" Charlie said sadly.

"No, Charlie, I'm sorry." Kathy shook her head.

As they were walking down the street, they passed the Law Enforcement wizard who had been talking to Mr Reeves on Sunday, except he had lost his navy robes, and was wearing a Muggle police officer's uniform. He was putting up a notice on a shop window, Kathy and Charlie took no notice of the poster which showed the man's face, and read, "Murderer Wanted - Have you seen this man? Severus Snape."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thanks to Isi, for beta-reading this, and to all my readers.**

- CHAPTER SIX -

Kathy climbed up the ladder into the hayloft. "What have you got for me today, then?" the man asked as she came over to him.

"I got some sausage, and cheese, and...and a custard slice. It all got a bit mixed up, I'm afraid."

"You didn't bring any Firewhisky, I suppose?" he asked longingly.

"Firewhisky?"

"Yes, fiery red liquid…"

"Oh, no - I didn't know you drank."

"No? Well, uh...I never used to..." He was trying hard to not spoil her illusion of him. "But I do now sometimes."

"Well, I'll try and get you some, I think me dad has some."

"How did you get all of these things then?"

"I just took them. Is that alright?" Kathy asked nervously.

"It's alright if you don't get caught. What would your mother say?"

"She wouldn't," she replied, "she's dead, she's in Heaven."

"Oh, I am sorry. Who looks after you now, then?"

"Well, there's me Auntie Dolly, she lives with us. There's me and me dad, our Nan and our Charles. It's his birthday tomorrow, as you know," she said proudly.

"Yes... What day is it?"

"Charles' birthday? The fourteenth."

"No, I meant today."

"Oh," she said, "Tuesday."

The man nodded. "I'm going to have to go soon."

"Oh," Kathy said sadly, "are you going a long way?"

"Yes," he replied simply.

"Will you have time to see some more children before you go?"

"No...Well, we'll have to see...I don't know."

They paused.

"Why did you let that kitten die?" she asked suddenly.

"Well, I've got a lot on my mind at the moment," he muttered, "Look; would you like to do something else for me? But if you do, nobody else needs to know. You cannot tell the others, understand?"

"Oh, I won't," she said quickly.

"Good. Well, I seem to remember there's a tunnel near here, where the train takes the students to Hogwarts. Do you know where that is? It's just that I haven't been here for some time." His eyes latched on to hers.

"Yes, there is one. The Castlewood tunnel, that's on a Muggle canal. We go and wave at the people on that big red train sometimes, it's only another year until I go there too."

He frowned and shook his head. "Well anyway," he said, "There's a parcel there; it's just inside the tunnel, wedged under the line. Would you be able to find it?"

"Oh, yes, I'll find it."

"Good, now, go by yourself. And don't open it. Alright?"

"Yes, I'll go now." She ran off and he watched her go through a chink in the wood.

She ran over the hill towards the railway line, and in the distance she saw a group of Law Enforcement wizards Apparating and beginning to comb the countryside, blasting things out of the way with a flick of their wands.

She ran into the mouth of the tunnel and quickly spotted the long thin parcel. She tugged it loose from beneath the rails, but froze as two Muggle workers started shouting, "Hey! What are you doing down there?"

"Who is it, some kid?" the other said.

"I don't know, I can't see. Hey! Come here!"

Kathy belted out of the tunnel and the Muggles, realising she was only a child, ignored her and went back to their work.

She ran back to the barn and left the package in the hayloft, where the man was apparently sleeping. As soon as she had gone, he sat up, and opened the package. His wand slid out of it and onto his lap. He sighed, happy to finally have it back. The Dark Lord had taken his wand away and told him to hide with some Muggles, whilst he used his wand to provide better protection for him. If he hadn't needed to stay loyal to the Dark Lord he would never have agreed; surrendering your wand to the most powerful Dark wizard was not a sensible thing to do. But he had been true to his word and returned it, though how good this protection was he was not sure; he had seen a few Law Enforcement wizards wandering about. But that was only to be expected, surely? At least now he had his wand back he could get out of this place and try to find the rest of the Death Eaters.

xXxXx

The next day, Charlie's birthday party was filling the farm with noise. Charlie was popping balloons over a girl's head.

"Ha ha ha!" he chortled.

"Oh, don't, Charlie!" she shrieked.

"British Bulldog! British Bulldog!" Charlie began to chant.

"We're going to play my game now," Kathy said calmly.

"It's my party; I can play what I like."

"Now, you mind, otherwise your party'll be over, and I know somebody who might find themselves in bed," his aunt interjected his whines.

"We're going to play Blind Man's Bluff," Kathy announced.

"I don't like it, it's too rough," a girl said.

"'Course it isn't," Jackie Greenwood shouted.

"I'm gonna be a blind man and I'm gonna come and get you!" Charlie squealed.

"Oh, Dad, tell our Charles to stop it," Nan sighed.

"Now, come on, Charlie, watch it, love. You're getting over excited now," Mr Bostock said benevolently.

"But I want to be the blind man, it's my party."

"Here, you can use a duster," Auntie Dolly said, passing it to Kathy.

She began to wrap it around Charlie's head. "It's too tight!" he shouted.

"I don't want you peeking." Kathy twirled him around and the children started to shriek as he reached his hands out in front of him, groping the air between his fingers.

Mr Bostock moved over to the sideboard. "I'd like another cup of tea now, if you've got one," he said to Auntie Dolly.

"Well, you'll have to use one of the best cups then, and be careful with it," she said.

He bent down and looked in the sideboard. "Say, where's that bottle of Firewhisky, then?"

"I don't know, don't look at me."

"Well, it's not here," he said.

"Well, you must have drunk it, mustn't you? It never passed my lips."

"Kathy. Kathy!" Mr Bostock called, "Kathy, have you shifted a bottle of Firewhisky out of the sideboard?" Kathy, preoccupied with the game, ignored him.

"Now, give over, give over, that's enough," Mr Bostock shouted, "Now quiet. Quiet! Right. Now it's cake time. Everybody who wants a bit of cake queue up in front of Auntie Dorothy."

The children clambered around her shouting, "Me! Me! Me!"

"Don't drive me insane," she sighed.

Nan ran up to her and picked up two pieces of cake.

"Hey, miss, put that down. Who's that for?" her Aunt shouted at her.

"Me," Nan replied, "It's mine."

Auntie raised her eyebrows. "I'm not talking about that, I mean the other one."

"Oh, that's for Merlin," Nan said, then horrified by what she just said, she dropped the cake to the floor and clasped her hand over her mouth. The room fell deadly silent.

"Who did you say it's for?" Mr Bostock asked.

"Merlin," she replied quietly, her father just stared at her.

"It isn't Merlin; it's just a fella," Charlie said sadly.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: This is the last chapter, I'm afraid. Thank you for being such lovely readers and reviewers. I hope you've enjoyed the story.**

- CHAPTER SEVEN -

Mr Bostock ran out of the house. "Eddie! Eddie!" he shouted, "that Death Eater they're after; he's in the barn!"

Auntie ran out of another door and started towards the village.

Inside the barn, the man heard the commotion and sighed; he would have to be on his way soon, though he really needed one more burst of energy before he went; the last thing he wanted to do was to get himself splinched. Mr Bostock and Eddie ran up outside. Kathy stood in front of the house, giving instructions to the children from the party. They ran off in different directions.

Mr Bostock peered through the barn door and saw the man holding his wand out defensively. He jumped back and shut the door.

He barred the door shut. "Come on!" he shouted to Eddie, "He's got a wand, and he can do very Dark Magic. Now look. You stay here and keep out of the way. I'll be back."

Kathy ran down to the barn, but her father caught her. "You're not going up there, Kathy," he shouted at her.

"I'm going to see him," she said defiantly.

"No you're not, love." He grabbed her arm.

"I'm going to see him, Dad!" she shouted as she struggled in his grip.

"Look, you don't know, love; you don't understand."

"You don't! You don't understand anything!"

"Look, it's not what you think. You don't know who he is."

"I do, I do," she insisted, "it's Merlin!"

"He's got a wand, love, he's a Death Eater!"

"You're just making it all up because you want to get him! You can't leave anybody alone! I'm going to see him!" she screamed.

Mr Bostock tried to haul her up to the house. "Stop it! Stop it, Kathy, stop it!" he said, "you're not going up there, come on!"

"Oh, please, Dad!"

"Come along!"

"Please!"

"Come along, now!"

"It's Merlin!"

"Now behave! Kathy, behave! Come along!"

"But it's Merlin!" she shrieked.

"Come on!" He pulled her into the house and took his wand from his pocket. He dragged Kathy into the kitchen where Nan and Charlie were sitting anxiously. "Now, listen, all of you," he said, "you're to stay here and you're not to go out. Just do as I say, and there won't be any more trouble. Just do as I say."

As soon as he left, Kathy ran out the back door grabbing the bottle of Firewhisky she had hidden in her coat and ignoring her siblings' shouts. She clambered around the back of the barn and found a high window to call through.

"Merlin? Merlin? Oh, please, Merlin, please! Merlin! Oh, please talk to me, I wouldn't hurt you, it wasn't me, I promise..."

His stern voice came from inside, "Go away, girl...Go away."

"I brought you something though; your Firewhisky," she called.

She clambered up a pile of junk to where she could reach the window and pushed the bottle through. He picked it up and drank a large gulp, wiping his mouth of the sleeves of his filthy black robes.

"I didn't give you away, it was Charles and Nan. But they didn't mean to; it's just that they didn't think," she whispered. "Aunt Dolly has gone for the Law Enforcement Squad. What will you do? Are you going to get away?"

"We'll see, I thought I was safe here." He hung his head.

"There are lots of other children, I sent for them to help you. I know they'll come, I just know they'll come," she said passionately, "did you hear what I said?"

"Yes, I heard," he muttered, fighting back the tears that seemed to be strangely filling his eyes. Why did he care about what this little girl had done?

"We wouldn't have sent for the Squad. Not ever! Not ever!" She spun around, hearing the cracks of many wizards Apparating. "They're coming now! What are you going to do? There must be something you can do, you can do anything!"

"Is that what you all think?" he asked sadly.

"Yes! You're the greatest wizard that ever lived!" she shouted through her tears.

_Oh, no, no, no,_ he thought grimly to himself, _I killed that one…_

xXxXx

"He's in that barn, I gather. You stay here; I'll go up with Wilcox and a couple of men. He'll cover the back." Teesdale and the Law Enforcement Squad were standing in the yard; he looked up, seeing groups of children approaching from all directions. "Where in Merlin's beard are they coming from?"

"I've no idea, sir," a young wizard replied.

"Well, I want this whole area cleared, especially of Muggles; we don't want to have to start messing around with Memory Charms as well."

xXxXx

"Please, you must hurry! You must!" Kathy shouted, "Will we see you again? Will we see you?"

"Yes," he said quietly, "you'll hear about me again."

"Do you promise? Promise?"

A Squad wizard appeared and pulled Kathy away. "Come on, love. Out of there."

"Yes, I promise," the man whispered.

Behind him, the doors of the barn opened very slightly, Teesdale called through the gap: "You there, Snape?"

The crowds of children were gathered in the yard, watching intently. There was no reply from the man within the barn. The Squad wizards held their wands out ready.

"What about it, Snape? What's it gonna be, then? Gonna make more trouble for yourself?"

There was a long tense moment, and then suddenly a loud crack was heard from within the barn. Teesdale dropped his head. "Right lads, back on the trail, if there's one man who deserves to go to Azkaban, it's Severus Snape."

The Squad came out from around the barn, following Teesdale, they all Disapparated in the yard, leaving the children wide-eyed. Mr Bostock sent them all off home and went to look inside the barn.

Kathy was standing alone on the path, tears streaming down her cheeks. She noticed a crumpled piece of paper at her feet, she picked it up; it was the drawing of the _Thirteen Magical Treasures of Britain_ that she had given the man, but the drawing of Merlin had gone from the page. A sound made her turn her head; two very little girls, were standing behind her, holding hands.

"Has he gone?" one asked.

"Yes," Kathy replied, "Yes, you missed him this time. But he'll be coming again."

Kathy smiled at the girls, who turned around and walked off, and then she looked down at the picture again. Merlin was back, and she swore she saw him wink.

_THE END_


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